Film handling apparatus



April 14, 1942. s, HOPKINS 2,279,463-

FILM HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 27, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 1 R0 Y6.OPK/IYS INVENT OR ATTO s' R. S HOPKINS FILM HANDLING APPARATUS FiledDec. 27, 1959 I28 a0 25 a4 12 Roy ki gfilglvd BY 2% a/wz A 'ITORWS IApril R. s. HOPKINS 2,279,463

FILM HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 27, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I34 6 as438 135/33 1.8.6 as i 7 77 /26 70.92 7.9 125 12.9 76 U 75 B0 ROYS.HOP/(0V5 6 2 INVENTOR I said endless drive member.

Patented Apr. 14, 1942 Roy S. Hopkins, Rochester,

Kodak Company,

Eastman N. Y., assignor to Rochester, N. Y.,

a corporation or New Jersey Application December 27, 1939, Serial No.311,177

20 Claims. 4' (01. 88-24) The present invention relates to a filmhandling apparatus and more particularly to arrangements for moving afilm strip through a film gate on the rotatable head of a photographicprojector.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision of a filmhandling apparatus having a rotatable 'film supporting head and awinding means partially on said head and partially on the casing of theapparatus so that film may be' advanced through the head from thewinding member on'the casing, having a gate opening means including arockable cradle operatively connected to a movable gate member which isopened automatically by movement of the winding means through the head,engaging elements the winding means on the head for rendering theresistance to movement of the winding means elements on the head greaterthan the resistance to movement of the winding means elements on thecasing and greater thanthe resistance to rocking of said cradle, andhaving a detent means between said head and said casing for positioningthe head in any of several predetermined positions and for overrotatesaid head.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a film handlingapparatus comprising a rotatable driven member on said head and adriving member on driven member.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a gate openingmeans comprising a cradle rotatable on a shaft of the winding meansmember to open the same andcomprising a pair'of idler supports formaintaining an endless drive member without appreciable slackinengagement with a driven member on said shaft so that said cradle isrocked by movement of the winding means or the casing for rotating said"Still another object-oi the invention is the provision of a frictiondrag means engaging the winding means elements on the head for rendaringthe res stance to movement of the elements of the winding means on thehead and of the film greater than the resistance to movement prior toadvancement of film having a friction drag means coming the tendency ofsaid winding means to -type of film handling apparatus.

of the winding means elements on the casing so that upon rotation of thehead the film at the gate remains stationary while the winding meanselements on the casing may be moved.

I said film supporting head and the head.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a detentmeans between the rotatable film supporting head and the casing forpositioning the head in any one ofa plurality of positions with respectto said casing and for overcoming the tendency of the winding means torotate said film supporting head.

Other and further "objects of the invention will be suggested to thoseskilled in the art by the description which follows.

Reference is hereby made to the accompanying drawings wherein likereference characters designate similar elements and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the top only of a film handling apparatushaving a rotatable film'supporting head according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through taken on the line 2-2of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal cross section oi" the film handlingapparatus according to the invention and as taken on the line 3--3 ofFig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of my improved film handlingapparatus.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary rear view oi the film supporting head with thecover plate removed and showing the connections to the spindles on Fig.6 Ba section to member for driving the reel spindles and taken on theline 6-4 of Fig. 5. f

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section through the spindle journal ofline 1-1 of Fig. 1.

' Fig. 8 is a plan view of the gate opening means nections to themovable gate member.

' Fig. 9 is an end view of the rockable cradle showing the endless chaindrive to its supporting shaft; andg vFig. 10 is an end view of theopposite end of said cradle and also showing the intermediateconnections to the movable gate member.

Although the present disclosure relates to a photographic projector, itshall be understood that this invention may also be applied to any Inthe illusthefilm II and a the rockable cradle of trated embodiment ofthe invention, handling apparatus comprises a casing rotatable filmsupporting head i2.

Said casing ll comprises a base l3, sidewalls H and IS, a rear wall i6part of which is swingabiy mounted on the hinge H, see Fig. 4, and afront wall 18 which is provided with an opening for a translucent screenmember 19. A top wall enlarged scale of the clutch the head and taken onthe and intermediate con- I or plate 20 is riveted to the top of thecasing II and carries an objective member 2| including a focusingsprocket 22.

An internal plate 23, see Fig. 3, is swingably mounted on base |3 by ahinge 24 and is supported in the inclined position shown by set screws25 in brackets 26 on side walls l4 and I5. A mirror 21 is mounted onplate 23 by clips 28 and functions to reflect the image received fromobjective member 2| onto the translucent screen member l9. A lightbaffling frame 29 is mounted within casing adjacent the front wall l8and internal plate 23 may be swung against pads 30 on frame 28 to shieldthe interior of the casing from any light entering through the screenmember l9. Under these conditions, the projecting apparatus may be usedas a projection enlarger by merely laying sensitive paper or a printingframe on the base l3. the hinged rear wall |6 providing access to theinterior of the casing A curved bracket 3| is fastened to top wall 28and supports a lamp house 32 which contains the usual light source andcondensers, not shown, for directing a beam of light downwardly into theobjective member 2|.

,The film supporting head |2 comprises a circular cap-like frame 33provided with an internal cavity 34 and provided with an internal,annular V-shaped groove 35. Said frame 33 has a circular flange 36 whichis provided with notches 31 located in quadrature and said frame 33 isprovided with an annular recess 38 adjacent said circular flange 36.

A winding means housing 39 is mounted on frame 33 and includes a ledge40 on which a stationary gate member or glass fiat 4| is mounted by apair of clips 42. A cylindrical sleeve 43 is fastened within the cavity34 of frame 33 and forms a guideway for the movable gate member which iscomposed of a cylindrical barrel 44 axially 'slidable within sleeve 43and carrying a glass fiat 45 fastened to one end of barrel 44 by clips46.

Spindles 41 and 48 are rotatably mounted in respective ends of thehousing 39 being preferably journaled within bearings 49 formedintegrally with housing 39, see Fig. 7. Film holders such as film reels50 and may be positioned respectively upon spindles 41and 48 and theintervening film strip F passes between the glass flats 4| and 45forming the stationary and movable gate members. A guide roller 52 isrotatably mounted in frame 33 between spindle 41 and the film gate anda'second guide roller 53 is rotatably mounted in frame 33 between thefilm gate and spindle 48. These guide rollers may be mounted on studs 55fastened to top wall 26. Another of rollers 54, see Figs. 1 and 3, isrotatably mounted on a stud 56 fastened to an arm 51 of a bell crank 58,said bell crank 58 also comprising a spindle 59 journaled in a bushing60 on plate 26 and an arm 6| fastened to the other end of spindle 59. Aspring 62 is connected between the outer end of arm 6| and a pin 63 ontop wall 20. It is now clear that the spring 62 tends to move the bellcrank 58 so that the roller 54 on arm 51 thereof .is moved outwardlyinto engagement with the V-shaped groove 35 in cap-like frame 33. Thisoutward pressure on one of the rollers 54 tends to center the V-shapedperipheries of all of the rollers 54 with respect to the V-shaped groove35 in frame 33. As a result, said frame 33 and the stationary gatemember or glass fiat 4| thereon are accurately located with respect toobjective member 2| and the film held between the glass fiats 4| and 45is accurately located in the focal plane of objective member 2|. Suchaccurate location of the film F with respect to objective member 2| isobtained, although the film supporting head |2 may be rotated to anydesired position by means of the knobs 64 on said cap-like frame 33. Itwill also be noted that the mounting means or rollers 54 and groove 35are arranged, respectively, on top wall 20 and in cap-like frame 33 sothat the film supporting head I2 is rotatable concentrically ofobjective member 2| or so that the axis of rotation of head |2 coincideswith the optical axis of the objective member 2|.

The film winding means comprises one or more driving elements on thecasing and a plurality of driven elements on the rotatable filmsupporting head l2. The winding means elements on the casing maycomprise a winding member 65 carrying a crank handle 66 and mountedexternally of casing see Fig. 4, on one end of shaft 61 which isjournaled in the side wall l5 of easing The crank handle 66 may behinged to winding member 65 so that it can be folded into the compactposition shown in Fig. 4 or so that it can be swung into the windingposition indicated by the dotted lines in Fig.

centrally recessed for guiding a narrower width of film, such as 16 mm.film through the film gate. 3

Since the objective member 2| is mounted on casing II or the top wall 20thereof and since the film gate or glass flats 4| and 45 are mounted onthe film supporting head l2, it is extremely important that the mountingmeans for rotatably supporting the film head |2 shall accurately supportsaid head |2 so that the stationary glass fiat 4| or guiding surfacethereof will place the supported film strip F in the focal plane of theobjective member 2|. To this end the film head I2 is provided with aninternal annular groove having a contour complementary in shape to the.peripher ies of rollers on said top wall 20. A plurality of rollers 54having V-shaped peripheries are rotatably mounted on top wall 20. Two ofsaid rollers 54, see Figs. 1 and 2, are rotatably 3. A sprocket 68 ismounted on the inner end of shaft 61 within casing II and engages achain 63 encircling a sprocket 18 on a shaft 1| journaled in the sidewall l5. A larger sprocket 12 is also mounted on shaft 1| and isencircled by an endless drive member or chain 13. A guard 14 is mountedon side wall l5 adjacentthe periphery of the large sprocket 12 to holdthe chain 13 thereon.

A bracket 15 is fastened to the underside of top wall 20 and includesbearing lugs 16 and a sleeve 11. A shaft 18 is rotatably supported inbearing lugs 16, carries on one end a sprocket 19 and on the other end amiter gear 80. A stub shaft 8| is joumaled in the sleeve 11 of bracket15, carries on its lower end a miter gear 82 in mesh with miter gear andcarries on its upper end a pinion gear 83.

A gate opening 'means comprises a cradle 84 having an end plate 85 andan end plate 66. Said end plate 85 is provided with an opening forrotatably encircling the base of miter gear 80, while end plate 86encircles a bushing 81 which is freely rotatable on the shaft 18. A-pair of idler supports are mounted in the end of cradle 84 on oppositesides of shaft 18 and maintain the endless drive member 13 in engagementwith the sprocket 19 without permitting apreason of the threaded sleeveassembly now to be described.

are oppositely arranged chain 13. Such idler supports comprise groovedrollers-88 and 88, grooved roller 88 being freely rotatable on a pin 88extending from end plate 88 of cradle 84 and grooved roller 88 beingfreely rotatable on a pin 8| also extending from end plate 88 but on theopposite side of shaft 18 from the pin 88. A guard plate 82, see Fig. 9,is mounted on cradle 84 and has an arcuate portion adjacent theperiphery of sprocket 18 to hold the endless chain 13 thereon. Thus itwill be seen that upon rotation of the winding member 55 by crank handle65, .the shaft 61, chain 88 and sprocket 18 will be rotated. In turn,large sprocket 12, endless drive or chain 13, sprocket 18, shaft 18,miter gear 88, miter gear 82, shaft 8|, and pinion gear 83 will also berotated. The elements just enumerated constitute the elements of awinding means upon the casing II of the apparatus.

The winding means elements on the film supporting head comprise arotatable ring member, a clutch member and driving connections from saidclutch members to the spindles 41 and 48. The ring member, see Figs. 2and 3, is rotatably mounted upon the cylindrical sleeve 43 of the frame33. Said ring member 83 is annular in form, has a toothed periphery 84for meshing with the pinion gear 83, teeth 85. Practically frictionlessmounting of the ring member 83 may be obtained by providing aballbearing groove or race internally of ring member 83 and by providinga ballbearing mounting between said ring member 83 and the cylindricalsleeve 48. An external annular groove 88, see Fig. 2, is provided incylindrical sleeve 43 and has one side formed by the beveled edge of asleeve 81 which is threaded onto a reduced portion of cylindrical sleeve43. An internal annular groove is formed on the inner wall of the ringmember 83 and together with groove 88 forms a race for the ballbearings88. Thus the ring member 83 is freely rotatable on said sleeve 43 of theframe 33 of the film supporting head I2 and by 81, such ballbearingmounting for the ring member readily assembled.

A clutch shaft 88 is rotatably mounted in the bearing plates I88 and IMwithin the housing 38 which is hollow but enclosed by a cover plate I82,see Fig. 3. A pinion gear I83 on one end of clutch shaft 88 and mesheswith the crown gear 85 of ring member 83. Rotation of said clutch shaft88 is transmitted to either of the spindles 41 and 48 through a clutchThe clutch assembly is best illustrated in Fig. 6 and comprises a pairof collars I84 and I85 which are fastened, respectively, to shaft 88 bypins I88 and I81. A pair of beveled teeth I88 on collar I84 and a pairof similar beveled teeth I88 are provided on collar I85. Said teeth I88and I88 are angularly displaced with respect to each other for apurpose-which will be presently apparent. A disk member H8 floats onshaft 88 and includes a collar III carrying a pair of beveled teeth H2and a collar H3 carrying a pair of beveled teeth H4. Said beveled teethH2 and H4 are in axial alignment with respect to each other and arewithin teeth I88 and I88 on the respective collars I84 and I85. A sleeveH5 fits freely over collar III and a corresponding sleeve H8 is mountedupon the collar H3. Friction disks H1 and H8 on undercut portions aremounted, respectively,

83 may be is mounted the angle of displacement of the and has crowngear.

on each side of the disk H8. H8 and I28 are, respectively, mounted uponreduced portions of the, sleeves H5 and H8. The clearances between theends of sleeve H5 and collar I84 and friction disk H1 and between theends of sleeve H6 and the corresponding collar I85 and friction disk H8are less than the axial displacement imparted to the disk member H8either by engagement of teeth I88 with the beveled teeth H2 or of teethI88 with beveled teeth H4.

Driving connections between her and the respective spindles 41 and 48may be provided in a conventional manner. An end less chain I2I, seeFig. 5, encircles the inner sprocket collar I I8 and also encircles asprocket I22 on the end of the spindle 48 which is rotatably mountedwithin the winding means housing 38. In a similar manner a chain I23encircles and engages the teeth of sprocket collar I28 and a sprocket,not shown, on the spindle 41 which is rotatably mounted in the integralbearings of housing 38.

1 The operation of the complete winding means including the e ements onthe casing and the elements on the head will now be described. When thewinding member is rotated by a crank handle 86 in a counter-clockwisedirection as indicated by the arrow of Fig. 3, the sprocket 88, chain 58and sprockets 18 and 12 are also rotated in a counter-clockwisedirection. At the same time the endless drive member or chain 13 ismoved in the direction indicated by the arrow of Figs. 3 and 9 so thatsprocket 18, shaft 18 and miter gear 88 are rotated in a clockwisedirection as indicated in Fig. 3. Thus the miter gear 82, stub shaft Mand pinion gear 83 are rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed fromFig. 8 and by virtue of the engagement between pinion gear 83 and thetoothed periphery 84, the ring member 83 is rotated in the direction ofthe arrow thereon in Fig. 3. By reason of the engagement between crowngear and pinion gear I83 the shaft wise direction as indicated in Figs.5 and 6 and the teeth I88 of collar I85 engage the teeth H4 to move thedisk member H8 axially or to the right as viewed in Fig. 6. Such axialmovement of the disk member H8 moves the sleeve .H5 against collar I84and clamps the sprocket collar H8 between the rim of said sleeve H5 andthe friction disk H1 while sprocket collar I28 may rotate freely on itssupporting sleeve H6. Thus the movement of shaft 88 is transmittedthrough the clutch member to the sprocket collar H8 and moves the chainI2I and the sprocket I2! in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 5.Since Fig. 5 is a rear view of the driving connection to spindle 48,counter-clockwise rotation of sprocket I22 as shown in Fig. 5 willresult in clockwise rotation of the spindle 48 as viewed in Fig. 2. As aresult, upon such clockwise movement of the winding member 55, the filmF will be moved to the left of Fig. 2 and wound upon the Sprocketcollars the clutch memfilm reel 5| on spindle 48.

Conversely. when the winding member 85 is rotated in the oppositedirection all of the winding elements including shaft 89 will also bemoved in opposite directions. This reverse rotation of the shaft 88 willcause the s rocket collar I28 to be clamped for rotation therewith andthe chain I23 will be driven by a sprocket c'ollar I28 in the directionindicated by the arrow in Fig. 5 and the spindle 41 will be rotated in acounter-clockwise direction as viewed from'Fig.

88 is rotated in a c0unter-clockin F751,

will be noted that the lost motion in the clutch member can be reducedto a minimum by arranging the angular displacement of the teeth Hi3 andlslii so that upon opposite rotations of the shaft til the respectiveteeth H2 and iii are immediately engaged and the clearances betweensleeves H5 and H6 and respective col lars 584 and lfib being less thanthe axial displacement of the clutch disk member ilii by said teeth i528and illfi also reduces the lost motion in the clutch member.

The rockable cradle 84 of the gate opening means carries a pair ofabutments for limiting the angular movement of said cradle 83. Such"abutnients may be conveniently provided as screws i2 3 and H25 threadedinto said cradle 35 and fastened in adjusted positions by lock nuts 8The upper ends of said screws H24 and i255 are adapted to strike againstthe bracket -when the cradle S l has been rocked to its limit vases ineither direction. Such rocking of the cradle.

has ears i3 1 and is pivotally mounted overtop Wall 2E3 by means of aspindle 835 which passes through said ears 11M and lugs i 325 extendingfrom sleeve ll of bracket "ii Coil springs encircle each end of thespindle i355, each have one end engaged under the lugs E36 and each haveone end bearing upon the circular por tion its of fork member i333, seeFig. 8. The other side of fork member 533 includes fork arms whichextend around each side of the obiective member and which engage thelower edge of cylindrical barrel id. The action of. coil springs itl'normally moves said fork member i33 so that the fork arms 53% raise thecylindrical barrel it resiliently press glass flat d5 against glass fiator against the film strip F therebetween.

When the winding means elements on the cas ing are operated the endlessdrive member or chain it, passing over the grooved rollers 88 and on thecradle li i, causes said cradle il to rock in a direction correspondingto the direction of movement of said Winding means ele= merits. Forinstance, rotation of the winding Winding means elements from thesprockefl'Q to the spindles il or M3 is considerably greater than thefrictional resistance to rocking of the cradle 86. Consequently, theinitial tension on either strand of chain i3 will cause the cradle 84 torock until either of the abutments or screws E26 or .525) strike thebracket l5 and then only will the tension in chain 73 be sufficient torotate the sprocket ii and the other elements of the Winding meansconnecting to the spindles. It is now apparent that adjustment of theabutments or screws Hit and H5 will determine the amount of lag betweenopening of the gate members and actual movement of film therebetween. Itis obvious that the adjustment of said abutments should be such that theglass flats have been opened sufiiciently to release the film be forethe film is moved longitudinally by either of the spindles ll or '18 orfilm holders or 5|. The guide rollers 52 and 53 support the film so thatit is normally a slight distance below the stationary glass flat M andso that during winding of theiilno F neither of the glass flats touchesthe sensitive surfaces of the film.

While it is recognized that automatic gate opening means including arockable cradle arm are known, such previous means have been open to theobjection that the endless chain member is quite slack so that the linksof the chain v become lrinked or so that the slack side of the chainoverlies the sprocket teeth to produce picking therebetween. Accordingto the present arrangement the grooved rollers 33 and 89 support theendless drive member or chain 73 without any appreciable slack thereinso that the previous objections or kinking of the slack side of thechain have been overcome.

When the film supporting head i2 is rotated with respect to the casing,it may happen that the frictional esistance to movement or the windingmeans elements on the casing is greater than the frictional resistanceto movement of the winding means elements on the head. In such eventrotation of the film supporting head would 1 cause the pinion gear N33to rotate on the crown gear 95 of ring member 93 and in turn one of thespindles t? or 43 would be rotated to move or to member causes movementof chain '53 in the direction of the arrow on F g. 3 and tension in thelefthand strand of chain 1 8 Will act dovvn- Wardly on the groovedroller be to cause said cradle to rock in a counter-clockwise directicnwith r=spect to 3. Such rocking of the cradle it raises theslotted diskE28 and moves the lever so the upright arm thereof engages the circularportion Q38 of fork mem her to raise the against the action oi the coilsprings idl This raising of the circular portion l it of iork memberi553 lowers the fork arms tell and permits the cylindrical barrel i land glass fiat thereon to fall away from the stationary glass fiat Cl orthe rllm F there between, Accordingly, the glass flats it and G5 areautomatically separated so that the film may be movedtherebetweenwithout abrasion.

The frictional resistance to movement. of the tend to move the filmstrip F with respect to the glass flats ll and 55. Under thesecircumstances the glass flats would not be opened and the film would bescratched. Furthermore, the film would be moved with respect to the gateand it would be necessary to rewind the film in order to re turn thesame image to the film gate. This move ment of the film through the filmgate upon ro tation otthe film supporting head is quite objectlonablebecause the head is rotated principally ior the purpose of erecting animage which is sidewise on the screen and rotation of the should merelyerect the without moving the seine out of the film gate or held of View.

In order to insure that the winding means ele-- ments on the head willhave more resistance to movement than the winding means elements on thecasing, friction drag are associated with one or more of the windingmeans elcnents on head. For instance, a friction drag member bears onthe disk Hit of the clutch assen'lbly.- Such a friction drag member maycomprise friction pad mounted on the end of a plunger Mi which isslidably mounted in the Winding .oeans housing 39,

Fig. 5,

. ing 39. Such friction drag members may be individually adjusted sothat even without any film holders on the spindles and without any filmbeing grasped between the gate members, the spindles 41 and 48 will notbe turned upon rotation of the film supporting head I2. If it is desiredto decrease the winding load to a minimum, such friction drag membersmay be adjusted so lightly that rotation of the spindles 41 and 48 isnot prevented unless there is the additional drag on them created by thefrictional engagement of the gate members and intervening film strip F.These friction drag members may also serve another purpose in that theyincrease the frictional resistance to movement of the winding meanselements between the sprocket 19 and the spindles 41 and 48 so that suchfrictional resistance is considerably greater than the resistance torocking of the cradle 84 ang so that the cradle 84 will surely be rockedto pen the gate members before the spindles are rotated.

The normal frictional resistance of the winding means elementsparticularly on the film supporting head and the additional frictionalresistance created by said friction drag members on the winding meanselements on the head create a tendency for the entire film supportinghead I2 to be rotated by the winding elements means on the casing. Forinstance, rotation of the pinion gear 83 in mesh with the toothedperiphery 94 of the ring member 93 will obviously have a tendency torotate the entire film supporting head I2. In order to prevent suchrotation of the film supporting head I2, a detent means is arrangedbetween said head I2 and the top wall 20 of the casing II. Such a detentmeans may comprise a slide I41slidable on the undersurface of top wall28, aroller I48 extending through an opening "I49 in said top wall 20,and a coil spring I50 fastened at one end to a post II on slide I41 andat the other end to a post I52 on top wall 20. Said coil spring I58 actsupon the slide I41 resiliently to hold the roller I48 against'thecircular flange 38 on the cap-like frame 38 and to move said roller intothe semiecircular notches 31 in said flange 36. The film supporting headI2 in-' cluding cap-like frame 38 may be rotated merely by moving knob84 so that a semi-circular notch 81 cams the roller I48 therefrom. Thenotches 31 are located in quadrature so that for each 90 of rotation ofthe film supporting head I2 the detent means engages another notch 31and tends to hold the film supporting head in that position. Theresilient action of such detent means is sufficient to overcome anytendency of the winding means elements on the casing to rotate the filmsupporting head I2 when the winding means is operated.

Other advantages of the film handling apparatus disclosed herein will beobvious to those skilled in the art and modification of the variouselements disclosed to obtain the same advantages will also be apparent.Therefore, the present disclosure is to be construed only in anillustrative sense and the scope of the invention is defined in theclaims which follow.

Having now particularly described my invention what I desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States and what I claim is:

1.In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casing includinga wall, an objective member having an optical axis and mounted on saidwall, a film supporting head provided with an internal annular grooveand with an internal cavity for said objective member and carrying afilm gate including a stationary gate member and a movable gate memberfor fric tionally engaging and supporting a film strip, a p-urality ofrollers having peripheries complementary in contour to said groove andsupporting said head on said wall for rotation about said optical axisso that a film strip between said gate members is in the focal plane ofsaid objective member; and a winding means including spindles and drivenmembers connected thereto on said head and including a shaft rotatablymounted in said casing and connected to said driven members, an endlessdrive member on said casing for rotating said shaft, and a windingmember on said casing for moving said endless drive member, of a gateopening means including arockable cradle arranged to be rocked uponmovement of said endless drive member and operatively connected to opensaid movable gate member when said cradle is rocked, friction drag meanson said head and engaging an element of the winding means on said headfor creating resistance to'movement of said winding means elements onthe head greater than the resistance to movement of the winding elementson said casing or the resistance to rocking of said cradle, and a detentmeans between said head and said wall and for positioning said head inone of several predetermined positions and for overcoming the tendencyof said winding means to rotate said head.

2. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casing includinga wall, an objective member having an optical axis and mounted on saidwall, a film supporting headprovided with an internal annular groove andan internal cavity for said objective member and carrying a film gateincluding a stationary gate member and a movable gate member forfrictionally engaging and supporting a film strip, a plurality ofrollers having peripheries complementary in contour to said groove andsupporting said head on said wall for rotation about said optical axisand so that a film strip between said gate members is in the focal planeof said objective member, and a winding means including spindles anddriven members connected thereto on said head and including a shaftrotatably mounted in said casing and connected to said driven member, anendless drive member on said casing for rotating said shaft, and awinding member on said casing for moving said endless drive member, of agate opening means including a rockable cradle arranged to be rockedupon movement of said endless drive member and operatively connected toopen said movablegate member when said cradle is rocked, and frictiondrag means on said head and engaging an element of the winding means onsaid head for creating resistance to movement of said winding meanselements on the head greater than the resistance to movement of thewinding elements on said casing or the resistance to rocking of saidcradle.

with an internal annular groove and an internal cavity for saidobjective member and carrying a film gate including a stationary gatemember and a movable gate member for frictionally engaging andsupporting a film strip, a plurality of roller having peripheriescomplementary in contour to said groove and supporting said head on saidwall for rotation about said optical axis and so that the film stripbetween said gate members is in the focal plane of said objectivemember, and a winding means including spindles and driven membersconnected thereto on said head and including a shaft rotatably'mountedin said casing and connected to said driven members, an endless drivemember on said casing for rotating said shaft, and a winding member onsaid casing for moving said endless drive member, of a gate openingmeans including a rockable cradle arranged to be rocked upon movement ofsaidendless drive member and operatively connected to open said movablegate member when said cradle is rocked, and a detent means between saidhead and said wall and for positioning said head in one of severalpredetermined positions and for overcoming the tendency of said Windingmeans to rotate said head.

4. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casing includinga wall, a film supporting head rotatably mounted on said wall andincluding a film gate, and a winding means com- H prising a pair ofspindles rotatably mounted on said head, a ring member rotatably mountedon said head, driving connections on said head between said ring memberand said spindles, a

driving member on said casing and engaging the periphery of said ringmember to rotate the same,

and a winding member on said casing and connected to said drivingmember, of friction drag means on said head and engaging an element ofthe winding means thereon for rendering the resistance to movement ofthe elements of the winding means on said head greater than theresistance to movement of the elements of the winding means on saidcasing, and a detent means between said head and said wall forpositioning said head and for overcoming the tendency of said windingmeans to rotate sai'dhead upon rotation of said ring member by saiddriving member.

5. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casing includinga wall, a film sup-'v porting head rotatably mounted on said wall andcarrying a film gate including a stationary gate member and a movablegate member for frictionally engaging and supporting a film strip,

I and a winding means including a pair of spindles and driven membersconnected thereto on said head and including a shaft rotatably mountedin said casing and connected to said driven members, and an endlessdrive member for rotating said shaft, of a gate opening means includinga rockable cradle operatively connected to be rocked upon movement ofsaid endless drive member and operatively associated with the movablegate member so that the same is opened when said cradle is, rocked, andfriction drag means on said head and engaging an element of the windingmeans on said head for rendering the resistance to movement of saidwinding means elements on said head greaterithan the resistance tomovement of the winding elements on said casing and greater than theresistance to rocking of said cradle.

6, In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a pair of spindlesfor supporting film holders, a film gate including a stationary gatemember and a movable gate member for frictionally engaging a film stripextending between said film holders, and a film winding means forrotating said spindles and including a rotatable film winding shaft, adriven member on said shaft, an endless drive member, and a film windingmember for moving the same, of a gate opening means comprising a cradlerotatable coaxially upon said film winding shaft for movement of saidmovable gate member to open position, and a pair of idler supportslocated and arranged on said cradle for supporting said endless drivemember without appreciable slack and in engagement with said drivenmember and so that said cradle is rocked by movement of said endlessdrive member.

7. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a pair of spindlesfor supporting film holders, a film gate including a stationary gatemember and a movable gate member for frictionally engaging a film stripextending between said film holders, and a film winding means forrotating said spindles and including a rotatable shaft, a driven memberon said shaft, an endless drive member, and a film winding member formoving the same, of a gate opening means comprising a cradle rotatableon said shaft for movement of said movable gate member to open position,a pair of idler supports located and arranged on said cradle forsupporting said endless drive member in engagement with said drivenmember, and a pair of abutments on said cradle located and arranged tolimit rotation of said cradle in either direction, the frictionalresistance to movement of said spindles by the film winding means beinggreater than the resistance to rocking of said cradle so that movementof said film winding member first rocks said cradle and then rotatessaid spindles.

8. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casing includinga wall, a film supporting head rotatably mounted on said wall andincluding a film gate, and a film winding means comprising a pair ofspindles rotatably mounted on said head, a ring member rotatably mountedon said head, driving connections on said head between said ring memberand said spindles, a driving member on said casing and engaging theperiphery' of said ring member to rotate the same, and a film windingmember on said casing and connected to said driving member, of frictiondrag means on said head and engaging an element of the film windingmeans thereon for rendering the resistance to movement of the elementsof the film winding means on said head greater than the resistance tomovement of the elements of the film winding means on said casing sothat said spindles are not rotated and cannot move film through saidgate when said head is rotated.

9. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casing includinga wall, a film supporting head rotatably mounted on said wall andincluding a pair of spindles for supporting film holders and a film gatefor engaging and supporting the film'strip between said film holders,and a film winding means for rotating said spindles and comprising aring member rotatably mounted on said head, driving connection onsaidhead between said ring member andsaid spindles, a driving member on saidcasing and engaging the periphery of said ring member to rotate thesame, anda film winding member on said casing and connected to saiddriving memcasing.

10. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casingincluding a wall, a film supporting head rotatably mounted on said walland including a pair of spindles for supporting film holders and a filmgate for engaging and supporting the film strip between said filmholders, and a film winding means for rotating said spindles andcomprising a ring member rotatably mounted on said head, a clutch memberon said headand connected to said ring member, driving connectionsbetween said clutch member and each spindle, a driving member on saidcasing and engaging the periphery of said ring member to rotate thesame, and a film winding member on said casing and connected to saiddriving member, of a friction drag member on said head v and engagingsaid clutch member for rendering the resistance to movement of the filmwinding means elements on said head greater than the resistance tomovement of the film winding means elements on said casing.

11. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casingincluding a wall, afilm supporting head rotatably mounted on said .walland ineluding a pair of spindles for supporting film holders and a filmgate for engaging and supporting the film strip between said filmholders," and afilm winding means for rotating said spindles andcomprising a ring member rotatably mounted on said head, a clutch memberon said head and connected to said ring member, driving connectionsbetween said clutch member and each spindle, a driving member on saidcasing and engaging the periphery of said ring member to rotate thesame, and a film winding member on said casing and connected to saiddriving member, of a plurality of friction drag members on said head andrespectively engaging said clutch member and each of said spindles forrendering the resistance to movement of the film and film winding meanselements on said head greater than the resistance to movements of thefilm winding means elements on said casing so that upon rotation of saidhead the film winding meanselements on the casing are moved and the filmand film winding means elements on said head are not moved with respectto said head.

12. In a film handling apparatus, tion with a casing including a wall,an objective member mounted on said wall, a film supporting head havinga circular flange and provided with an internal annular groove, andcarrying a pair of spindles for supporting film holders and a film gatewith a film contacting surface, and a plurality of rollers havingperipheries complementary in contour to said groove and for rotatablysupporting said head on said wall with said film contacting surfaceaccurately positioned with respect to the focal plane of said objectivemember,

of a winding means for rotating said spindles including a ring memberrotatably mounted on said head, and including a driving member on saidcasing for engaging and rotating the periphcry of said ring member, anda spring pressed roller on said wall for engaging notches in said thecombinal said winding means and rotation of said ring member by saiddriving member.

13. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casingincluding a wall, and a film supporting head provided with an internalcavity and an annular groove, of a bellcrank centrally pivoted on saidwall, a plurality of rollers having peripheries complementary in contourto the contour of said groove, some of which rollers are rotatablymounted upon said wall for engagement with said groove and one of whichrollers .is rotatably mounted on one end of said bellcrank, and aresilient means between said casing and said bellcrank for urging theroller on said bellcrank into resilient engagement with said groove.

14. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casingincluding a wall, an objective member mounted on said wall, and a filmsupporting head including a film gate with a film contacting surface andprovided with a V-shaped circular groove, of a plurality of rollershaving V-shaped peripheries and rotatably mounted on said wall to engagesaid groove and rotatably to support said head with the film contactingsurface of said film gate accurately located so that a film engaging thesame is in the focal planeof said objective member. a

15. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casingincluding a wall, an objective member mounted on said wall, and a filmsupporting head including a film gate with a film contacting surface andprovided with an internal cavity for said objective member and providedwith an internal V-shaped circular groove, of a bellcrank centrallypivoted on said wall, a plurality of rollers having V-shapedperipheries, some of which rollers are rotatably mounted upon said wallfor engagement with said groove and one of which rollers is rotatablymounted on one end of said bellcrank, and a spring member having one endconnected to said casing and the other end connected to the other end ofsaid bellcrank to press the roller thereon into said groove andaccurately locate the film contacting surface of said film gate withrespect to the focal plane ofsaid objective member.

16. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casingincluding a wall, a film supporting head including a pair of spindlesfor supporting film holders and a film gate for supporting the filmtherebetween, and mounting means on said wall for rotatably supportingsaid head thereon, of a film winding means for rotating said spindlesincluding a ring member rotatably mounted on said head and a drivingmember on said casing for engaging and rotating said ring member, anddetent means between said head and said wall for positioning said headin any one of a plurality of positions with respect to said casing andfor overcoming the tendency of said film winding means to rotate saidhead upon rotation of said ring member by said driving member.

17. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casingincluding a wall, a film supporting head carrying a pair of spindles forsupporting film holders and a film gate for. supporting a film strip andincluding a circular flange provided with notches located in quadrature,and mounting means on said wall for rotatably supporting said headthereon, of a wind- I ing means for rotating said spindles, includingcircular flange of the film supporting head and for preventing rotationthereof upon operation of a ring gear having peripheral teeth androtatably mountedon said head, and including a pin- 18. In a filmhandling apparatus, the com bination with a casing including a wall, anobjeotive member mounted on said casing and having an optical axisextending transversely of said Wall, a film supporting head including apair of spindles for supporting film holders and a film gate forsupporting the film between the film holders in the field of saidobjective, and a mounting means on said casing and supporting said headfor rotation about the axis of said objective member, of a film windingmeans for rotating said spindles, including a driven member mounted onsaid head for rotation about an axis extending transversely of said walland operatively connected to said spindles, and includ ing a drivingmember on said casing for engaging and rotating said driven member onsaid head and a film winding member on said casing and operativelyconnected to said driving member.

,19. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casingincluding a Wall, an objective having an optical axis and mounted onsaid wall, a film supporting head including a pair aaraees of spindlesfor supporting film holders, and a mounting means on said casing andsupporting said head for rotation about the axis of said objectivemember, of a film winding means for rotating said spindles, including adriven member mounted on said head also for rotation about said axis andoperatively connected to said spindles, and including a driving memberon said casing for engaging and rotating said driven member on said headand a film winding memher on said casing operatively connected to saiddriving member.

20. In a film handling apparatus, the combination with a casingincluding a wall, an objective having an optical axis and mounted onsaid Wall, a film supporting head including a pair of spindles forsupporting film holders, and a mounting means on said casing andsupporting said head for rotation about the axis of said objectivemember, of a film winding means for rotating said spindles, including aring member having a toothed periphery and mounted on said head also forrotation about said axis and operatively connected to rotate saidspindles, and including a pinion gear on said wall for engaging thetoothed periphery of said ring member and for rotating the same, and afilm winding memher also on said casing operatively connected to saiddriving member.

ROY S. HOPKINS.

